Paul slams Clapper over NSA 'lying'

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Wednesday said that Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has been as harmful to American intelligence gather capabilities as leaker Edward Snowden.

“That Clapper is lying to Congress is probably more injurious to our intelligent capabilities than anything Snowden did,” Paul told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “Clapper has damaged the credibility of the entire intelligence apparatus and I’m not sure what to believe anymore when they come to Congress.”

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Paul also said he believes Clapper would need to resign to restore confidence in the intelligence community.

“I don’t know how you can have someone in charge over intelligence who has known to lie in a public forum to Congress, to lie without repercussions,” he added. “If the intelligence community says we’re not spying on Americans and they are, and then they say we’re not collecting any data, it’s hard to have confidence in them.”

When asked about the prospect of raising criminal charges against Clapper, Paul said that both Snowden and Clapper broke the law.

“I think the law is the law; they both broke the law and that one shouldn’t get off scot-free,” Paul said.